


On the Road to a Bright Future

by Rcw99



Series: Things To Hold On To [12]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-06-12 07:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15334530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rcw99/pseuds/Rcw99
Summary: Angus and Gregg finally make it to Bright Harbor.A collection of scenes about everyone’s favorite couple moving on.





	1. One

  
Angus stood there, in the middle of his and Gregg’s apartment, staring at the cardboard boxes that filled their living room. It was almost sobering, to see all of their possessions so neatly packed away like that. Everything they owned fit into less than twenty medium-sized boxes, which was a lot less than he would’ve thought. It was only now he realized that the two of them didn’t really have all that much stuff.

Their apartment seemed so much smaller now. It was almost completely barren, save for a few things they still needed, like toiletries and kitchen utensils, and the furniture that came with. Everything was so lifeless now. This had been the first place he and Gregg had ever lived in together, and now all the little touches that made it their space were gone. It was upsetting, in a way.

Of course, it hadn’t helped that he’d been cooped up inside the past few days, working on everything. He had quit his job earlier in the week and had spent the time since then packing and getting all their affairs in order. It had been lonely, what with Gregg still working at the Snack Falcon up until tomorrow, but it had to be done if they were going to manage to move out in time. They never spent much time in the apartment without the other, and being without Gregg now seemed almost wrong.

The packing had been a welcome distraction from those feelings. It had managed to keep him occupied and take his mind off their impending move. But now, with the last of the boxes sealed up, he suddenly found himself with nothing to do. He had double and triple-checked everything multiple times and had been pacing around the apartment with a nervous energy ever since. 

His mind was buzzing. Even though he knew that there wasn’t anything more for him to do at the moment, he still felt as if he should be doing _something_. It didn’t feel right, with such a big move looming on the horizon, to just be sitting around doing nothing. There had to be something to do, he felt. Anything! There had to be more for him to do!

But there wasn’t. And he knew it.

He was done with everything he could possibly do that day. There wasn’t anything else to do but sit and wait for Gregg to get home.

And then…

Well…

He didn’t really know.

With a deep sigh, he flopped down onto the beat-up old sofa and stared at the TV across from him. It was one of those plasma ones that had been obsolete for years and weighed a ton, but it served their purposes well enough. Gregg had found it sitting on a curb along with a bunch of trash and had brought it home to use.

He turned it on, thankful he hadn’t gotten around to disconnecting it yet, and flipped through the channels until he found a show about how different products were made. This episode in particular was about tennis rackets, which wasn’t something Angus was terribly interested in, but he found it engaging nonetheless.

It didn’t do much to distract him however. His mind was still abuzz.

In three days, he and Gregg would be living in Bright Harbor. He could scarcely even believe it was finally happening.

And he was…happy?

Apprehensive, maybe. Definitely concerned. Scared, even. He felt as if this was all too good. Everything was going according to plan and he was just waiting for something to come along and ruin it all. The other shoe had to drop.

It wasn’t a baseless concern, he thought. Things had already gone a little off-track. Mae’s unexpected return to town and the eventful weeks that had followed had already delayed their Plan by several months. And now, in the final leg, he was terrified that something would come along and completely destroy it.

Gregg always told him that he worried too much, but he couldn’t help it. It was just who he was.

But everything had fallen into place. Gregg had a cousin in Bright Harbor who would let them crash at her place until they managed to find their own apartment, and they already had several in mind. He had a respectable IT job at some local company lined up and Gregg was willing to work whatever came along. They even managed to save up a decent amount of money. He had planned it all out on a spreadsheet and everything.

Everything was packed. Their landlord would be coming by tomorrow for the final walkthrough of the apartment. They had a rental car reserved that was big enough to fit all their stuff. All their bills, deposits, and whatever else were squared away. In two days, they were doing the big goodbye to all their friends and family.

And that was that.

In three days they would be on the road to Bright Harbor.

In three days, they’d be free.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last, my Angus and Gregg story is finally here!


	2. Two

Gregg felt like…

Well, he didn’t really know.

There had been something gnawing in the pit of his stomach the whole day. A deep, heavy, twisted ball of _something_ that was dragging him down every minute. It had bothered him from the moment he woke up, the whole time he was at the Snack Falcon, to the point he had barely paid any attention to anything, and it continued building up right until it all spilled out as he and Angus were lying in bed together.

It was two days before they were going to be moving out. It hadn’t really hit him until that morning, his last day at the ol’ Snalcon, that he was going to be leaving. For such a long time, it was always some grand, far off thing that would happen eventually, but now that it was here, he was scared.

But he wasn’t really scared about the future, he was more scared that he would mess everything up. All day, he was thinking about how much of a screw-up he was and how much he didn’t deserve a chance at a better life.

Now that he was in bed, alone with his thoughts, all that was in his head was how he was just trash and Angus was so amazing, and he just knew that it was only a matter of time until he would do something stupid and wreck everything and wreck his relationship with Angus and he would leave him and—

And it was then that Angus wrapped his arms around him and held him tight. He hadn’t even realized he’d been shaking. Hadn’t realized that he’d almost been crying. He thought he was being quiet. He thought that Angus hadn’t noticed, but he did. Of course he did. Angus always noticed, even when Gregg didn’t notice himself.

Angus pulled him in closer and peered at him, face barely visible in the darkness. “What’s wrong, Bug?”

“I—” The sentence died in his throat. 

He looked into Angus’ eyes. He never got the chance to do that often since his glasses were always in the way. “I just… I’m really scared, Angus.” His words came out in a whisper. “I just know I’m going to mess everything up and everything’s going to go to shit...”

Angus didn’t say anything for a moment and that seemed like an eternity to Gregg. All sorts of thoughts and worries and _‘why did he say anything?’_ and _‘he’s ruined things’_ and _‘Angus doesn’t deserve him’_ blossomed in his mind. He must’ve looked even worse than he already had or extra pitiful or something because Angus frowned in what had to be mock concern, because why would he really be concerned because Gregg really had no clue why Angus would ever love some as worthless as he was and—

Angus gently kissed his forehead, interrupting the train wreck of thoughts that had begun to spiral out of control.

“Hey.” He smiled gently and cupped Gregg’s chin, bringing his eyes up to meet his. “You’re not going to screw anything up, okay?” 

Then, because he knew Gregg and what he would be thinking, “I love you. You know that.” It wasn’t a question and Gregg knew that. It was something Angus had to reassure Gregg of sometimes when he got stuck in his own head like this. And after a moment, Gregg hesitantly nodded, grabbing ahold of the words.

“I’m here with you,” he continued, his voice soft and calm, “If anything happens, we’ll make it through it together. You’re important to me. I’m not going to leave you.”

And Gregg knew that. He really did. He just forgot it occasionally or it was drowned out by all the other thoughts rattling around in his head. He didn’t know why he thought like that sometimes, but as he internalized Angus’ comforting words, that voice in the back of his head telling how big of a piece of shit he was grew quiet. It didn’t go away, because it rarely did when he wasn’t doing anything else to distract from it.

He pressed his head into Angus’ chest, settling into a familiar position, enveloped in his embrace. “I’m sorry I get like that sometimes. I just…” He sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” The rumbling of Angus’ words in his chest managed to soothe Gregg even more. “It’s not your fault you feel like this sometimes, but you need to tell me when you do. I’m here for you. I love you. So much.”

Gregg breathed in deep and snuggled closer to Angus. “I love you too, Cap’n...”

And soon after they both fell asleep and slept peacefully through the night.


	3. Three

The night before he had to leave, Angus went and did the one thing he’d been dreading.

Saying goodbye to his mother.

He wasn’t happy about it, but it was something he had to do. She was his mother, after all, and he felt some sort of obligation to her, as this would be the last opportunity to see her before he moved. She was the only family he had left, with his brother, Johnathan, overseas in the army. 

It probably wasn’t going to be a pleasant visit. She hadn’t been very accepting of his plan to move away when since he had first told her. She’d tried to manipulate him into staying, and had almost convinced him, if Gregg hadn’t been there to talk some sense back into him.

Gregg always told him that she didn’t deserve the time of day after how she treated him as a child. He was very much against Angus’ continued contact with her and him going over for dinner tonight in particular. That had always been a sticking point in their relationship; Gregg wanting Angus to cut off contact and Angus still harboring some measure of love for his mother, because, in the end, she was family and she had raised him. That counted for something.

So there he was, despite Gregg’s insistent protests, walking halfway across town in the rapidly approaching dusk. It hadn’t been worth it to borrow Bea’s car for such a short trip, nor did it make sense to use the rental car he’d gotten earlier in the day.

He had even thought about bringing Gregg along to meet his mother, because she still had never met him, but Angus knew that that would only end up a disaster. She knew of Gregg’s existence, and greatly disproved of him, but meeting him was another story altogether. That, combined with Gregg’s resentment towards her, would not end well. They could both be hotheaded, and he was worried it might come to blows. 

Maybe after they were married, if they ever got to that.

Eventually, his mother’s apartment came into view down the street. It wasn’t where he had grown up, though. They had to leave that house after his father left and had lived in two other apartments since then. This particular one wasn’t even one he had ever lived in. She had only moved in a few years ago, as it was one of the few places her welfare money could afford.

He let himself into the building and walked down the hall to her apartment, Room 107. After gathering his nerves, he knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. Even though he had a key, it was better to have her let him in. He made the mistake of letting himself in once and caught an earful from her.

After a long moment and a lot of audible swearing, the door opened a crack and his mother peered through the opening at him.

“Hi there, Ma.” He gave a half-hearted wave. “I’m here for dinner.”

She didn’t respond and closed the door in his face, only to open it a second later after disengaging the security chain. 

Angus walked into the house and shut the door behind him. His mother was already making her way back over to her favorite, floral-patterned chair that she’d had since before he was born. She sat down heavily, letting loose an involuntary groan, and immediately reached over to her side table and picked up a carton of cigarettes.

“Ma,” he started, “You know you shouldn’t smoke so much. The doctor said—”

She just waved a hand dismissively and lit up the cigarette. “To hell with the doctor.” Her voice was rough—worse than it had been last he heard. “What’d I got to live for, huh?” And then she took a long drag off the cigarette, easing back into the chair with a sigh, before erupting into a violent series of coughs.

He stood awkwardly in the middle of the rundown living room, watching as his mother coughed up her lung, though it wasn’t like not having one lung would make much a difference anymore. She had COPD, caused directly by her lifetime of smoking, being around smokers, and probably a whole host of other undiagnosed problems.

After a minute, she reached over to her side tables and grabbed her oxygen mask and held it up to her mouth, taking as deep a breath as she could manage. She had a portable canister of oxygen that she was supposed to be using to help her breathe, and not as a crutch to help her continue to smoke like she was currently doing.

But Angus had learned long ago not to press that issue by now. Despite his best efforts, dragging her to Doctor Hank, getting her oxygen, and everything else, she still refused to do what she needed to even attempt to stay alive. It was only recently that she even started to use the oxygen tanks, though that just enabled her to smoke more.

When she was finally done coughing, she snuffed out the cigarette on the arm of her chair, among the hundreds of similar burn marks. Without acknowledging his presence, she turned her attention back to the TV, which was tuned to the local conservative news channel; the only thing she really watched anymore.

It was then that Angus realized something. “Ma, did you not start dinner yet?” He peered into the tiny little kitchen off her living room. The light was off, and it didn’t seem like anything was cooking.

She glared at him and then looked back at the TV. “I ain’t cooking.” 

“But—You said this morning when I called that you were going to cook dinner.”

“Yeah, well that was this morning.”

Angus sighed and bit back a retort. Arguing with her wouldn’t work out well for him. “Well… do you have anything for us to eat tonight? I could make us something.”

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, it could just be some sandwiches or something. I don’t really—”

“I said I don’t care.”

“Well… Do you want to order something?”

“Holy hell, boy!” She rose up from her chair and stalked over to him, shoving a finger in his face. “I didn’t raise you to be this much of a bitch! Make some damn food or don’t! I don’t give a shit!”

And then something in him snapped.

He shoved her hand out of his face, nearly throwing her off balance. “You know,” he growled, “I just came to say goodbye. I thought we could have a nice dinner before I had to leave, but I can see that isn’t going to happen.” He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. “So, goodbye.”

And with that, he turned to leave.

For a second, she stared blankly at him, nearly shocked that he had stood up to her, but then she righted herself and trailed after him. “Don’t you walk away from me, boy! I am your mother! I raised you!”

He paused at the door, hand on the knob, fighting through the urge to just apologize. “Yeah, and I turned out alright in spite of that.”

_“What did you say?”_

Against his better judgment, he turned around to face her, and was met with… well, at first glance it was the woman who had abused him for so much of his life. She was still all there. Physically imposing, demeaning, and tough as nails. Something buried deep inside of himself screamed to run away before she did anything.

But then, in an instant, all of that changed. She was a shadow of her former self. Frail and sickly, with deep shadows under her eyes, and barely able to walk across the room without running out of breath.

He looked at her, finally realizing just how much bigger he was than her now. He really didn’t need to be afraid of her anymore. And, as he stood there, he realized that she knew that. That she didn’t have any control of him anymore and that she hadn’t for some years now.

Angus smiled and tipped his hat at her. “Goodbye, Ma.”

That just set her off again. “So what?!” she yelled through labored breaths, “You just gon’ leave, like your daddy? You’re just gon’ abandon me? I’m the only family you got!”

Angus froze for a moment, red-hot fire, shooting through his veins at those words. He turned to look at her, eyes narrowed. “I have family.” His words were cold, but controlled. “And you’re not it.”

And then he wrenched open the door and left. With her condition, she couldn’t hope to follow after him.

He could hear her yelling after him as he sped down the hall and back out into the street. 

When he finally got outside, he leaned against the side of the building. He felt as if he might faint right there, but managed to get himself back under control. 

That had been… a rush. Unexpected. Exciting. Satisfying. A thousand words describing what had just happened ran through his head, but none came close to what he was feeling.

He couldn’t believe what had just happened. What he had just done. He hadn’t gone over there with the intention of doing that, but… He wasn’t one to get angry, but he just hit a limit. It had been the final straw. Over 21 years of abuse and neglect was over. 

Gregg would be proud of him. He hated Angus’ mother almost more than he did. Maybe it was his influence that made Angus finally find the courage to stand up to her and finally cut off contact with her.

And now that he had…

It felt good.

It felt really good.

He hadn’t realized how much _relief_ there would be. How much tension there had been in him that was now gone.

In that moment, he didn’t know why he had been forcing himself to go see her for so long. He had kept her in his life out of some misguided sense of family, even after everything she had done, but she really didn’t deserve it. She didn’t love him, so why should he pretend otherwise? 

He meant what he said back there.

Gregg was his family now. 

And that was more than enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, they finally did it. 

It had taken over three months of searching—much longer than they had originally anticipated—but they finally managed to find an apartment they could afford.

It was a run-down old building on the south side of the city. The ad had said it was ‘historic,’ but all that meant was that the building was at least 100 years old, the plumbing was bad, the walls were thin, and there wasn’t proper air conditioning. There were bars on the windows, including the ones five stories up, they were pretty sure someone was cooking meth somewhere in the building, at least three homeless guys lived in the alleyway next to the building.

It wasn’t much, but it was home. It was their home. A little too rough than either of them would’ve preferred, but most of the other places they had been looking at hadn’t been much better, so they weren’t really in a position to be picky.

Angus could scarcely believe it. This right here was the beginning of their new lives. Though he wasn’t showing it, he was just as excited as Gregg was, and Gregg was about as excited as he normally was. He yanked Angus from where they had been standing on the sidewalk and pulled him up the stairs and into the apartment.

There were still boxes everywhere; they had just finished moving in, so they hadn’t had the time to unpack yet. They hadn’t even found the time to buy any furniture, which meant they would be sitting and sleeping on the floor until they could manage to go out shopping. Or until Gregg found something someone left out on the curb that was halfway decent. Whichever came first.

They had been living with Gregg’s cousin Jen ever since they got to the city. She lived on the other side of town, near the university she attended. They had originally planned on only staying there for a few weeks, as they had already found a place online they liked before they even moved out of Possum Springs, but mostly because Jen had three other roommates.

Unfortunately, those plans fell through when the building the apartment was in was permanently condemned. Angus considered it a blessing in disguise that they didn’t move into that place—not even their current apartment was that bad. Served them right for blindly trusting real estate ads.

In between the new jobs they picked up—Gregg was a bartender in a club downtown and Angus was a mid-level IT Specialist in the local branch of a security company—they spent just about every available moment looking for new apartments. Even then, it took three months and two weeks just to find the place they were living in now.

Even though she wouldn’t say it, Jen was glad to have them out of her place. And, to be frank, they were glad to be out too. There was only so long they could take sleeping on the couch and having to deal with the drama of four women living together. 

But now they finally had their own place. They were finally in Bright Harbor and were free to do whatever they wanted. And most importantly, they had each other, and together, their futures were looking bright.


End file.
